Climate change is going to harm our hydroelectric capacity, and British Columbia needs a diversified energy portfolio now.
From the day the W. A. C. Bennett Dam was unveiled in 1968, hydro power has been a wellspring of cheap energy for British Columbians and an iconic piece of infrastructure and symbol of achievement. Today, it still produces power for the province due to the Peace River, which flows into BC from Alberta, powering both industry and homes.
However, in these times, worsening drought and declining snowfall now present a dangerous threat to BC's energy sovereignty, safety, and prosperity when the province relies on hydroelectricity for 87 percent of its power. It needs to be plainly and widely made known that BC is over-reliant on hydroelectric power, and the province’s refusal to open up new sources of power is a major risk.
Both government and industry in BC need to be working together to open up new avenues of electricity, or risk becoming dependent on outside sources to keep the lights on in hospitals, houses, and supermarkets.
Recent reports on drought conditions in both BC and Alberta paint a grim picture. There has been a run of summer droughts for several years now, and the drier conditions are evident from the severe forest fires burning up Canada’s two westernmost provinces. The painful destruction wrought to the picturesque Alberta border town of Jasper last month, and the total destruction of Lytton in BC in 2021 have reflected the worsening situation.
Compounding the lack of rainfall in the warmer months has been the decreasing snowfall in the colder ones, with historically low snowfalls drastically cutting the water levels of the reservoirs that feed BC Hydro dams.
In 2023, BC Hydro was a net importer of electricity, purchasing power from other provinces and the United States to match domestic demand in BC That same fiscal year, BC Hydro’s third-quarter financial results, occurring in the summer months, revealed a massive $1 billion drop in revenues.
2024 has not been much better, and without a significant recovery in rain and snowfall levels, BC reservoirs will be in even worse shape and increase our reliance on imported power. This leaves BC vulnerable to heightened energy bills for consumers, and a crippling absence of the power we need.
All of this should make it clear that BC’s dependence on a single source for power is going to be a major problem unless long-term weather patterns make a sudden turnaround, which few climate experts are predicting.
There is no reason why British Columbians cannot continue to take pride in their hydroelectric power, but times have changed and the province must evolve and diversify its energy supply to preserve its energy sovereignty. There are lessons to be learned from Alberta, which has seen a tremendous, market-driven growth in alternative energy sources to help the province transition away from its former reliance on fossil fuels.
Alberta’s domestic oil and gas industry has served as a reliable baseline, upon which the province has begun to steadily transition to more sustainable power, with Alberta recently exploring the possibility of nuclear energy.
Hydropower can be the same reliable baseline energy source for BC as it explores ways to diversify its energy supply. The biggest roadblocks are the existing barriers in BC that have prevented the use of alternative power sources, and these include laws and an unattractive climate for investment.
Nuclear power, for example, is currently a non-starter due to the laws passed in 2010 under the so-called Clean Energy Act, even though the Canada Energy Regulator has suggested that nuclear energy can be a crucial part of meeting BC’s energy needs by 2050. Provinces like Ontario have embraced nuclear power for a long time, and its provincial government has recently announced plans to expand its capacity for nuclear power, which is reliable, clean, and affordable.
Hydrogen is another promising alternative, and one that the BC government has enthusiastically endorsed, only for investment in it to be driven away by an unattractive business climate. A planned $2 billion hydrogen plant in Prince George was recently stalled due to the high costs of electricity required for the project to proceed.
Liquefied natural gas is another alternative that can serve as a transitional fuel, or even a permanent one in BC, where the infrastructure will soon exist to produce it in large quantities.
Fortunately for British Columbians, this summer appears poised to pass without a major energy supply crisis. However, that is likely to change without significant changes to what powers our energy grid.
Whether it be collecting taxes, harvesting food, or fostering population growth, there is little sense in placing all the eggs in a single basket, and this applies to power as well. Hydroelectricity has served BC excellently for more than half a century, and there is no reason why it cannot remain the province’s largest powerhouse, but BC Hydro cannot alter climate patterns, or make it rain or snow.
The time is now for energy diversification in BC.
Geoff Russ is a writer and policy analyst in Vancouver. He is a jormer journalist.